This episode examines a quiet but devastating leadership failure through Napoleon Bonaparte and the Ulm Campaign—a military collapse that ended not in a great battle, but in sudden realization.

In 1805, Austrian commander Karl Mack von Leiberich positioned his army at Ulm, confident Napoleon would attack head-on through familiar routes. The plan followed doctrine, tradition, and everything that had worked before. What it did not account for was change.

Napoleon never attacked Ulm directly. Instead, he pivoted north, crossed the Rhine far upstream, and maneuvered his corps independently and rapidly into the Austrian rear. Roads Mack assumed were safe closed quietly. Supply lines vanished. Reports stopped making sense. By the time clarity arrived, choice was gone.

We break down how bad leadership decisions, decision-making failure, and reliance on outdated assumptions allowed an entire army to be surrounded without ever losing a major battle. Mack didn’t lack courage or preparation—he lacked a framework for recognizing that the environment had fundamentally changed.

This episode explores how organizational failure happens when leaders cling to familiar models, wait for reality to behave properly, and mistake past success for present relevance. Ulm is a case study in how systems collapse when leaders explain away evidence instead of updating their understanding.

If you’re interested in leadership mistakes, leadership under uncertainty, strategic failure, and how organizations lose before they realize they’re losing, the Ulm Maneuver offers one of history’s clearest lessons.

Learn why leaders fail—not because they ignore doctrine, but because they trust it too long.